CSU Baseball Continues Big South Action; Follow the Action Online

Weather may have slowed down the start of this weekend's series, but it won't cool down the competition as the CSU baseball team gets ready to take on Big South Conference foe High Point. A doubleheader starting at 11 a.m. is scheduled to get the series started with the final slated for 1 p.m. on Sunday. All three games will take place at Buccaneer Field on the campus of CSU.

Full Game Notes for April 5 & 6 (High Point)

Media Coverage
Live Video (Big South Edge, subscription service)

GameTracker

Series Notes
CSU holds a 17-5 advantage in the all-time series with High Point. The Buccaneers won nine out of 10 meetings from 2002-2005, but the teams have been much more even since. The Panthers won the season series 2-1 in 2006 and CSU did the same in 2007, giving each team three wins in the last two years.

Scouting the Panthers
Pitching has helped High Point, which went 5-16 before beginning Big South Conference action, right the ship during league play. In six games, the Panthers are 3-3 in the conference thanks in large part to the 2.50 earned run average posted by the team’s pitching staff.
All three pitchers who have made starts for High Point in league games have posted sub-3.00 earned run averages, pitching a combined 37.1 innings for the Panthers. Sean Murphy has the lowest ERA, giving up just one run in 13.1 innings of work, while Ryan Basham has a team-high 11 strikeouts in the six conference contests. Jamie Serber is the final member of the trio, posting a 2.84 ERA with 1-1 record.
On offense, High Point is led by Randy Schwartz, who has a .352 batting average to lead the team. His five home runs are also a squad best. Billy Alvino is the Panthers’ top RBI man, knocking in 17 runs on the year. He is also second on the team with a .311 batting average.

Last Time Out
SAVANNAH, Ga. – Freshman Taylor Black’s team-high 11th double may have been his most important, bringing home two runs as part of a four-run rally in the 10th inning by the CSU baseball team on Wednesday. After being stifled on offense for most of the afternoon, the Buccaneers’ outburst in extra innings led them over Savannah State 5-1. Junior Kory Morian added a two-RBI single to pad the lead.

Breaking Through
Despite holding a significant advantage in the all-time series with Savannah State, CSU hadn’t been able to defeat the Tigers on their home field since head coach Jason Murray took over the program. That all changed on Wednesday when the Bucs rallied in the 10th inning to overcome Savannah State, 5-1.

Last But Not Least
Although he bats ninth in the Buccaneer lineup, freshman Taylor Black has made the most of his opportunities this season. Black has come to the plate with runners in scoring position 28 times this season and he’s delivered 11 hits for a .393 average. That ranks third on the team behind freshman Derek Smith and junior Mark Perry. Smith had a team-best .462 (12-26) average and Perry is right behind him with a .400 (10-25) mark.

On The List
Junior catch Jake Cox has been named to the 2008 Coleman Company-Johnny Bench Award Watch List, given annually to the top division one collegiate catcher. On the season, Cox has an on-base percentage of .387 thanks to 15 drawn walks, which is third on the squad. He has thrown out 13 of 22 runners trying to steal bases on him this season, thwarting nearly 60 percent of the attempts.

On The Horizon
After wrapping up its series with High Point, CSU has just one mid-week tilt on the schedule. The Bucs will square off with The Citadel at Buccaneer Field at 2 p.m. on Tuesday. CSU fell to the Bulldogs, 5-3, in the teams’ meeting earlier this season. Next weekend, the Bucs will take on Coastal Carolina in a three-game series as Big South action continues.